99380066

I have just recently bought my 97 lx civic, I want to do a engine swap but not sure which engine to pick. I'm new with this so I would like something somewhat easy to swap, I don't want to Turbo it, I want to build a all motor vtec, I won't be racing it and it will be my dd, I need something reliable and I can have fun in it. I'm looking to put about 3000 into the swap give or take. Any suggestions much appreciated.

Emeraldbomber

B18c is a pretty good motor. B16 is 160hp but parts may be a little harder to find for it or may be more expensive.

GoodSkoolRevltn

doing it yourself is fun. but be prepared to not have the vehicle for a long time. things take a lot longer the first time around. search around the site, see what you like. if you possibly have the money/time pick up somebodys junk cheap and rebuild it the way you want to. hmo motors is the BEST place to buy motors i hear, but it comes at a price. be extremely weary of buying someone elses swap on craigslist or anywhere else, because you are probably buying somebody elses junk and will be getting ripped off in more ways than one, especially to the untrained eye.

and as everyone else has asked you, what are your goals? right it down on a piece of paper, hang it on your fridge, nail it to your wall or something so you dont forget lol. if its just for the sake of saying hey i did a swap so be it. make a excel spreadsheet of how much money your gonna spend on stuff and a parts list. its easy to lose foresight. research is important, youre probably,at least if your like me, weeks away from making a decision. research research research. while its true a lot of stuff is available for free online here at h-t, i think books are more solid sources. heres a book on swaps in generalhttp://www.amazon.com/Honda-Engine-Swaps-S-A-Design/dp/1884089933/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1360910018&sr=8-1&keywords=honda+swaps i actually have this book on my computer, found it on a torrent and its in .pdf format. private message me and i can send it to you if youd like. a little blurry, but still looks good
another on building a b series. i would get any b-series honestly, but again, which one depends on YOUR goals. I can make your goals, but you in the end wouldnt be as satified as if you made the decisions.
people get so angry because this question has been asked a billion-gazillion times. this is the first time i chose to chime in. for $3g's, you could probably build your own reliably fun b-series, a chipped ecu/ems and dyno tune, suspension, the necessary tools and have the car of your dreams, and ill give you my first born son if you could finish it in 6 months. well itd probably cost a tad more, but with that much money to shed at the getgo, you could pay someone to do it, possibly half-assed, or do it yourself.

99380066

I don't really have any goals because I wouldn't know how fast 160 hp would compare to how it feels driving. But I can say this I want 1st through 3rd to push you into the seat a bit, probably top out around 150 give or take. Could you tell me about how much hp that would take so I can make goals. I've been researching alot and have been looking at ls/vtec or the b18c, which would be easier for me? I kind of want to get the ls block sleeve it to 84mm and get a b16 vtec head and build it from there, but if that's going to cost 4 grand I might as well go with the b18c right. I feel like the more I research though it's constantly people contradicting each other

GoodSkoolRevltn

With your budget right now and driving experience (not sure how old you are or your driving experience, just basing this off your questions), a gsr motor or possibly a ls/vtec, though a touch more complicated would be an ideal setup, and hopefully the end result would be a little under 200whp and a nice push in the seat. youd probably be able to run with a lot of stock subaru/evo/mustang gts n such. I know Im a little off on these calcuations but this is a good estimate, and place to start off. find someones junk motor, or project and go from there. a mild cam setup with supporting valvetrain. im having my short block bored to 82mm and im iffey about that this is on stock sleeves, people dont really bore to 84mm on stock sleeves, but do so on aftermarket ones. again i could be wrong about this. theres actually a really good thread in the all motor section for how to do a ls/v pretty detailed. just type in google honda-tech.com: .....(whatever you want to search, make sure you put the colon) and itll show up a lot of stuff. Gotta love hondas because basically everythings been done at least once by someone in terms of mods and its well documented for noobs like you and me.

edit: theres a few other obvious/not obvious things youll need besides an engine, but im sure youll get it.

99380066

Thanks for the input I believe I am going to go with ls/vtec and get 84mm with the after market sleeves so it will pretty much be a b20 without the sagging, I want a b16 head vtec of course. I see alot people on here going with eagle rods and pistons do some cam work haven't looked into that much so suggestions are welcome, I hear gsr trannys are not that great, so I guess lsd trans. I still have to do some research on the miscellaneous things I would need. Anyone that wants to send me in the right direction go ahead. Much appreciated.